Tackling Weeds in Minyirr Park

Minyirr Park is a Culture and Conservation Reserve abutting Cable Beach in Broome.

Insert a sentence or two on Park’s significance as a refuge for Broome’s endangered monsoon vine thickets (MTVs) and other plants (link).

The park is a well-used coastal recreation area that the Yawuru traditional owners and the Shire of Broome manage together. Over the last 30 years, the Reserve has become infested with weeds and degraded by changes in drainage (water run-off and soakage) and fire patterns, in large part because of its close proximity to residential developments.

Working with the Yawuru Country Managers, the Department of Parks and Wildlife Yawuru Rangers and staff from the Shire of Broome’s Parks and Gardens team, SKIPA volunteers have eradicated weeds from a large section of Minyirr Park.

What We Are Doing

In 2012, the volunteer bush-care group Society for Kimberley Indigenous Plants and Animals (SKIPA) – auspiced and supported by EK – initiated a cooperative and novel approach to combating invasive weeds in Minyirr Park (link).

The project partners came together to develop weed management plans for one/more? sites. We adopted/adapted? a method of weeding that encourages the regeneration of native vegetation, the most suitable weeding method for each group, and the minimal use of chemical treatments.

We began weeding a relatively healthy area of vine thicket and moved outwards, returning to the site regularly to remove new weeds. When conditions permitted, we removed many of the seedling and juvenile weeds by hand. We slashed grass-weed species, which were then treated with chemicals and covered in mulch. We used chainsaws on larger weed tree species, followed by selective chemical treatments.

Over two wet seasons, we revegetated two plots at a site that had been weeded. This site has been weed free for over five years. The project demonstrates what a relatively healthy (i.e. weed free) bush site can be achieved through a cooperative approach that prioritises regular monitoring and return visits, can achieve. We’ve held many weeding and tree planting days, ‘walks and talks’, and community education activities with schools and others in Minyirr Park. We have also shared information and knowledge about native plants and invasive weeds through workshops for gardeners and landscapers, and have developed an interactive Weed Identification game and an MVT plant identification booklet.

Into the Future

While funding for this project has run out, SKIPA volunteers monitor weed regrowth at the Minyirr Park site and take weeding action when necessary.

EK and SKIPA are drafting weed management recommendations to share with interested others.